Engine-starter.



A. O. LBVIGK 8; W. H. HUSSEY.

' ENGINE STARTER.

APPLICATION FILED JA N. 20,1912.

1 ,071 A44. Patented Aug. 26, 1913.

MOM W010 GUM/neg; V

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALVA N O. LEVICK AND WILLIAM H. HUSSEY, OF PEA-BODY, MASSACHUSETTS.

ENGINE-STARTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 26, 1913.

Application filed January 20, 1812. Serial No. 672,392.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, ALVAN O. LEVICK and WILLIAM H. Hussnr, a subject of the King of England and a citizen of the United States, respectively, residing at Peabody, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Engine-Starters, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to engine starters, and has for its object to provide a starter of simple structure, parts of which are permanently' attached to the engine frame, while other parts are adapted to be detacha-bly connected with the first mentioned parts and'also with the engine shaft when it is desired to initially rotate the shaft.

A further object of the invention is to provide an escapement mechanism in the engine starter which will permit the engine shaft to rotate backward or in a reverse direction from that in which it should rotate in the event that the engine should back-fire, without causing the parts which are controlled by the operator to rotate.

A still further object of the invention is vation of the crank handle thereof with attached parts; Fig. 3 is a side elevation of part of a sleeve and a cylinder member that are component parts of the starter; Fig. 4 is an end view of a socket member which is a component part of the starter; Fig. 5 is an end view of the sleeve used upon the engine starter; Fi 6 is an end view of the cylindrical mem er of the engine starter. y I

, Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following description and indicated in all the views of the accompanying drawings by the same reference characters.

The starter includes a socket member 1 which is adapted to be mounted upon the engine frame and which receives the end of the engine shaft, 2. The shaft 2 is provided at its end with claws which in turn have edges 3 extendinglongitudinally of the shaft and edges 4 disposed spirally with relation to the axis of the shaft. The

.ency to hold that part of the pawl 6 which is above the opening 5 projected down through the same. i The parts hereinbefore described are those that are permanently connected with relation to the engine and the engine frame.

A crank handle 8 is provided with a sleeve 9 which in turn is provided upon its periphery with a series of teeth 10. The inner end of the sleeve 9 is provided with a series of openings 11 in which pins 12 are slidably mounted. The outer end of the sleeve 9 is closed by a detachable cap 13 which is preferably screw threaded into engagement with the said end ofthe sleeve. A pin 14 passes through the center of the cap 13 and is slidably mounted in the said cap. A disk 15 is carried at the inner end of the said pin 14 and the said disk bears against the inner ends of the pins 12. The outer ends of the pins 12 are rounded, as at 16. A coiled spring 17 is interposed between the disk 15 and the cap 13 and is under tension with a tendency to hold the said disk 15 against the inner ends of the pins 12 so that the rounded ends 16 of the said pins'will be pin 18 and the inner end of the sleeve 9.

' of the crank handle 8 and The member 20 is provided at its end with a series of indentations 22 which are adapted to receive the ends 16 of the pins 12. At the end of the cylindrical member 20 opposite that end at which the indentations 22 are located, claws 23 are provided, and these claws are adapted to fit snugly in the spaces between the claws carried at the end of the engine shaft 2. That is to say, the claws 23 have edges which are parallel with the axis of the cylinder 20 and edges which are spirally disposed with relation to the axis of the said cylinder. The pin 14 is provided with an annular groove 24, and a lever 25 is fulcrumed upon the crank handle 8 and is provided with a cam end 26 which bears against the side of the pin 14. The free end portion of the lever 25 is provided with a lug 27 which extends along the edge a coiled spring 28 is interposed between the said lug and the bottom of a socket 29 provided in the crank handle 8. The spring 28 is under tension with a tendency to hold the end portion of the lever 25 in contact with the pin 14.

In operation, the cylindrical member 20 is inserted in the socket member 1 until the claws 23 come in contact with the claws at the end of the engine shaft 2. WVhen this is done the sleeve 9 is inserted in the outer portion of the socket member 1 and the teeth lie directly below the pawl 6. When the crank handle 8 is turned in one direction the claws 23 in engagement with the claws at the end of the shaft 2 will turn the said shaft so that the engine will start. If for any reason, however, the engine shaft 2 should suddenly revolve in the opposite direction the pawl 6 in engagement with the teeth 10 will hold the sleeve 9 and the crank handle 8 against rotation in a reverse direction with the engine shaft 2. As the said cylindrical member rotates in the reverse direction the edges of the indentations 22 against the rounded ends 16 of the pins 12 will force the said pins away from the cylindrical member and the said pins in turn will force the disk 15 in an outward direction against the tension of the spring 17. The disk 15 also carries with it the pin 14 so that the groove 24 is carried under the cam end 26 of the lever and. the spring 28 in the socket 29 bearing against the lug 27 of the lever 25 will force the cam end 26 of the said lever into the groove 24 and thus the pin 14 is held in its outermost position against the tension of the spring 17. The parts will remain in this position until the operator moves the lever 25 so that the lug 27 thereof is brought in contact with the side of the crank handle 8 and thus the cam end 26 is moved out of the groove 24 and the tension of the spring 17 will move the disk 15, pin 14 and the pins 12 back to their inner positions so that the rounded ends 16 of the pins 12 may lodge in some of the indentations 2. By this arrangement it will be seen that a simple and an effective device for starting or cranking the shaft of an engine is provided and that the parts are so arranged that it is impossible for the operator to suffer injury in case the engine shaft should prematurely start to rotate in a reverse direction as a result of backfiring or from other cause.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. An engine starter comprising a socket member, a pawl pivoted thereon, a sleeve adapted to be inserted in the socket member and having teeth for engagement with the pawl, a crank handle fixed to the sleeve, a headed pin carried at the inner end of the sleeve, a cylindrical member journaled upon the pin between the head of the same and the end of the sleeve and having a claw end adapted to engage the engine shaft, and means for yieldably holding the meeting ends of the cylindrical member and the sleeve together.

2. An engine starter comprising a socket member, a pawl pivoted thereon, a sleeve adapted to be inserted in the socket member and having teeth for engagement with the pawl, a crank handle fixed to the sleeve, a cylindrical member journaled to the sleeve and having a claw end for engagement with the engine shaft, said cylindrical member having a series of indentations, pins slidably mounted in the sleeve, and spring means carried by the sleeve for holding the pins in the indentations of the cylindrical member.

3. An engine starter comprising a socket Inember, a pawl pivoted thereon, a sleeve adapted to be inserted in the socket member and having teeth for engagement with the pawl, a crank handle carried by the sleeve, a cylindrical member journaled to the sleeve and having a claw end for engagement with the engine shaft, said cylindrical member' having at its end a series of indentations,

pins slidably mounted in the sleeve, a disk bearing ag inst the pins, a pin attached to the disk and passing through the sleeve, and a spring bearing against a fixed part of the sleeve and the disk and adapted to hold the pins in engagement with the indentations in the cylindrical member.

4. An engine starter comprising a socket member, a pawl pivoted thereon, a sleeve adapted to be inserted in the socket member and having teeth for' engagement with the pawl, a crank handle carried by the sleeve, a cylindrical member journaled to the sleeve, pins slidably mounted in the sleeve and engaging the cylindrical member, a disk located Within the sleeve and bearing against said pins, a spring for holding the disk toward the pins, a pin attached to the disk and having a peripheral groove, and a lever fulcrumed upon the crank handle and adapted to enter the groove in the last mentioned pin.

5. An engine starter comprising a socket member, a pawl pivoted thereon, a sleeve adapted to be inserted in the socket member and having teeth for engagement with the pawl, a crank handle carried by the sleeve,

1 a cylindrical member journaled to the sleeve and having claws for engagement with the engine shaft, pins slidably mounted in the sleeve and engaging the cylindrical member, a disk bearing against the pins, a pin at tached to the disk and having a peripheral Copies of this potent may be obtained for groove, a spring for holding said disk in contact Withthe first mentioned pins, a lever fulcrumed to the crank handle and having a cam end which bears against the side of the last mentioned pin, and a spring interposed between the crank handle and the lever for holding the cam end *of,the lever in contact with the side of the last mentioned pin.

In testimony whereof, we affix our signatures in presence of two Witnesses.

ALVAN O. LEVICK. [L.S.l WILLIAM H. HUSSEY. [as] Witnesses JOHN P. BUCKLEY, CHARLES J. POWELL.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patent! Washington, D. 0. 

